Ventilation

[MarvelManor]

I'm in North Carolina. Near Fayetteville. Working on my coop which is about 3.5ft tall and 7 feet long. Unfortunately can't make it any taller. The roof is the next step and I'm trying to make sure we have enough ventilation. Plan to use a 2x4 to slant the roof but how many inches should the gap be. No other windows in the coop. Will have 2 doors and a chicken door. Don't have any chickens yet.

 

[Ted Brown]

BYC rule of thumb is 1 sqft ventilation per bird; greater in hot climates.I think @3KillerBs is in or near Georgia.

Rough calculation with 2x4 rafters is (7*10*4*2)/144 = 4.9sqft so 4-5 chickens.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm in North Carolina. Near Fayetteville. Working on my coop which is about 3.5ft tall and 7 feet long. Unfortunately can't make it any taller. The roof is the next step and I'm trying to make sure we have enough ventilation. Plan to use a 2x4 to slant the roof but how many inches should the gap be. No other windows in the coop. Will have 2 doors and a chicken door. Don't have any chickens yet.

Why no "other" widows?
I would cover the predominantly wind sheltered side with well secured 1/2" hardware cloth to make it more open air.
Can you please post pictures of your current construction and your design?
How many birds do you plan to house?
How large will the run be?

 

[BDutch]

Things like chicken size and air flow are important as well.

A 6 pound/3 kilo chicken probably needs 3x as much ventilation as a 2 pound/1 kilo bantam. Just one of the things you can choose before hou buy chickens : bigger flock and small eggs,

Having just one side with one big ventilation opening is different from an air inlet on one side and another near the top/ceiling at the opposite side.

 

[MarvelManor]

Why no "other" widows?
I would cover the predominantly wind sheltered side with well secured 1/2" hardware cloth to make it more open air.
Can you please post pictures of your current construction and your design?
How many birds do you plan to house?
How large will the run be?

I'm thinking 6 birds..dont have any yet, but thinking color egg layers, polish, maybe a brahma. Run is basically 3acres. This is what's done so far. It will have 2 doors on opposite sides that can be left open

 

[MarvelManor]

Why no "other" widows?
I would cover the predominantly wind sheltered side with well secured 1/2" hardware cloth to make it more open air.
Can you please post pictures of your current construction and your design?
How many birds do you plan to house?
How large will the run be?

Kinda just winging it as we go so no set design. Windows, I was thinking since it's not tall Windows would have the air flow on the chickens, and I'll have the 2 doors I can leave open when needed

 

[DobieLover]

Kinda just winging it as we go so no set design. Windows, I was thinking since it's not tall Windows would have the air flow on the chickens, and I'll have the 2 doors I can leave open when needed

The problem is you can't leave the doors open at night when the chickens are actually using the coop. Having hardware cloth backed open windows at roost level is an excellent idea for a hot climate like yours. In the winter you can just close the windows.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm thinking 6 birds..dont have any yet, but thinking color egg layers, polish, maybe a brahma. Run is basically 3acres. This is what's done so far. It will have 2 doors on opposite sides that can be left open

What are those shelves for?
Where do you plan to put the nest boxes? Will they be bump out nest boxes?
Where do you plan to put the roosts?

 

[MarvelManor]

What are those shelves for?
Where do you plan to put the nest boxes? Will they be bump out nest boxes?
Where do you plan to put the roosts?

They are just apart of the pallets we got and the wood was breaking when we tried to take some part. So that middle shelf part I thought about starting the roosting there. Thinking 3 roost bars. Nesting boxes will be at that far end of the coop on the inside gonna make boxes

 

[MarvelManor]

The problem is you can't leave the doors open at night when the chickens are actually using the coop. Having hardware cloth backed open windows at roost level is an excellent idea for a hot climate like yours. In the winter you can just close the windows.

Ok, yea that could work too then. Thank you